I know that gastric bypasses do not fall under the category of "diet plans," but I could not find any other place on the boards where it might be more appropriate. Has anyone ever have a gastric bypass surgery? Or do you know someone who had one done? Please pass along any info you might have as I'm considering having one. Thx!

I voted for try to lose weight yourself. The reason is I really know a LOT of people who have had this surgery. I am not kidding. I do customer service at a phone center for a large company and it is 99% female employees. Most of us are either somewhat overweight to extremely overweight. I know of atleast 10 people who have had this surgery. Most of them are nowhere near their ideal weight. Four of them are and the others have lost about half of what they needed to lose and then they started gaining some back. In fact my aunt had the surgery too. She lost two hundred pounds and then stretched her stomach back out by eating too much and gained most of it back. I would say look into this long and hard first. I need to lose a lot myself but decided to do it the old fashioned way. So far I have lost 42 pounds! I still have a long way to go but I will get there!!

good luck to you!
lorelei

Hi.. thx for your reply. I'm a big believer in losing weight the right way. I've never tried all these diet pills and miracles diets. i think the best way to do it is to exercise and eat right. But I know myself well enough to know that I could never stick to a weight loss plan unless I see results quickly. I get frustrated too easily. If I have the surgery, then I will see results quickly and gain motivation. I think that surgery is the only way I'll ever be able to lose weight. I am going to think about it long and hard... and who knows? It may not even be an option if my insurance won't pay for it.

Hey there. I too am interested in this topic, so anyone who knows people who have went through this surgery, PLEASE post.

I want to learn more about it because my dad is scheduled for this surgery in the middle of May. He has many other complications, but physically, his back and knee are really bad due to an injury at work, and he can't move much at all to lose weight on his own. He NEEDS to lose weight for health reasons OTHER than simply being overweight. He has heart complications and diabetes.

He's seeing other doctors before the surgery to fully figure out the complications and risks since it is such a drastic procedure. If anyone has any info/advice at all from personal or friends' experience about this, please, like SavvyKat has requested, post it here!

Thanks!!

To get more info have you tried searching online? I bet if you typed in "gastric bypass surgery" on your search engine you would find lots of info on it. Or try www.webmd.com or www.ask.com These are the places I go to when I want medical info. Good luck to your dad Jaelie, It sounds like he would benefit from this since he has other health things goin on.

lorelei

look, ladies, this isn't a quick fix. it's the end result of a long, long hard road. it's not a solution if you haven't put your 'food demons' behind you.

it was the only answer for me. for health reasons. and i still view it as mutilation. but after decades of dieting and battling, and therapy and everything that goes into being a 'good weight loss' doo-be, nothing worked. and i mean that. NOTHING WORKED.

it's NOT for people with less than 100 pounds. and it's described as a TOOL. it can be sabotaged quite easily, as some of you have already seen. but i have also met people who have lived for as long as 13 years with this type of surgery. and kept the weight off. the key is to follow the rules. but, as we all know, every food plan/eating plan/diet has rules. we're used to them.

for more information, type in CARNIE WILSON SURGERY and that will lead you to her www.spotlighthealth.com site [well, how about that... i remembered the address!!!]

there's a whole forum of info there. also check out the american bariatric society, and www.naafa.org. there are good points and there are bad points. and frankly, it would be better for all if diet and exercise worked, but for some of us, after years of dieting and yo-yo-ing, the body gives up and there's no other choice.

hope this has helped. and jaelie, best of luck to your dad. i had to 'pass' inspection by cardiology, pulmonology, a psychiatrist, nutritionist, and a peripheral vascular disease surgeon. it's NOT an easy haul to even get to the surgery.

I know four people who have had it done, two with amazing results and two who are having problems. The first two did everything by the book, the second two broke just about every rule. I really think that it's like anything else...if you do everything you're supposed to do (councling, carefully monitoring your food, exercise, support, etc), it works well. However, if you look at it as a quick fix and assume that once you go under the knife all your problems are over...forget it. You're going to have problems.

I would LOVE to have it done, but I know myself well enough to be very aware that the chances of my always being that disciplined are not very good. Also, I have no excuses or deep emotional problems that have gotten me where I am today...I eat because I'm bored. Period. I am not a candidate for the surgery.

IF a person goes into it with the right attitude and is very aware that it's not easy, not a quick fix, not a totally effortless way to lose weight...THEN that person will probably do pretty well.

Hi.

My husband is scheduled for surgery in two weeks. April 19th. It has been a year since we first started considering this as an option for him.

If you go to the catagory of Fitness Scams you will find a thread that talks about this subject. No I do not consider this a scam, it is a necessary step for alots of people. I'll check back later and keep you all informed of his progress.

Hi Savykatt,
I had a gastric bypass 18 years ago. I lost 110 lbs in about 7 mo.
The only real problem I had, and still have is diareah. ( I don't think it is the right spelling).
I had just had my 3rd child 4 mo. before. And I was weighed 247 lbs.
I was amazed at the progress. I exercised religously. When I got down to 137 lbs. my lowest, I really didn't like myself. I lost to fast. My skin was hanging everywhere. I kept the weight off for about 4 years, then started gaining. Little by little. I now am at 206. I have thought about having a second operation to re-staple the stomach, since it streched all out again.
I am first going to try on my own again. The operation should be a last result. I did have health problems 18 years ago. Now at 47 I have more. I still want to lose on my own.
It really can work--- but it is a change you have to make for the rest of your life. So is a good mealplan.
Good luck in whatever you decide.

if anyone is on aol, there are quite a few rthat come into the wt loss chat room that have had it.

Good luck to you in any situation you decide. If it is sugery, please go for the therapy after. I never did and I believe it would have been a good thing to do. For everything changes,
weeder

Hello. First let me say that I empathize with anyone who qualifies for a gastric bypass surgery as i have friends who do and understand how hard life is for them to carry around so much excess weight.

I have to say, I have known several people who have had the gastric bypass. Several have gained weight back because they just eat until they eventually stretched there remaining stomach out. Another one i know, stops in middle of meal, goes to bathroom to puke and comes back and resumes eating. Another one I know, eats too much and then moans and groans making everyone else miserable saying her stomach hurts. Well, hello, you cant fit a baseball into a ping pong ball.

I think gastric bypass is great, but it doesn't address the behavior modification issues needed for those of us who are overweight. A majority are what we eat. A few have rare disorder that make them gain weight. Those of us who eat too much, have to learn not to before the surgery because later is not a good ideal.

Good luck and God bless to anyone who has this procedure.

Hi, my name is Jennifer and I am new to this site. I had gastric bypass surgery Feb. 7 of this year. I am 30 years old and have been overweight my entire life. I was 389 at the time of surgery and now 9 1/2 weeks later I am 321. I am so happy that I made this decision to have surgery, it is changing my life. I feel so much better! I would recommend it to anyone, I haven't regretted it a moment. I should also say that am an emotional eater and I eat out of boredom. This is not a problem anymore. You get very satisfied on a small amount of food so you don't feel like you need more. You do not have the same desire for food that you have before. I am extremely thankful for this surgery. If anyone has any questions feel free to e-mail me. [email protected] Thanks, Jen

I'm a new member, and thought that I would add my 2 cents to this topic. I've been considering gastric bypass surgery for nearly a year. The first and foremost thing is that this is not a quick fix. Yes, you lose weight fast, but this is a complete change of lifestyle and you have to be ready to accept it and deal with a lot of issues. In a lot of ways I would say that eating a healthy, low fat diet, and trying to lose weight "the old fashioned way" is easier, but its not an option for everyone. I guess I could consider myself lucky, though I'm over 100 lbs of my "ideal" weight I don't have the many health problems that many have.

My insurance company requires a person to be on a doctor supervised weight loss program for at least a year. There are so many other restrictions and "hoops to jump through" in order to qualify for this surgery. Can't just wake up one day and say "hey, I think I'm going to have this surgery" and in a week its done. Its a loooong process. Another great site is www.obesityhelp.com Lots of wonderful info there.
Take care
Avalon